Finally!!! Thank God!!!

We received news today that Reginald Clemons has been granted an indefinite stay based on his appending appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

I was standing on a city street in Saint Louis, Missouri. I was wearing my green and black "Justice for Reggie" t-shirt. I had a sign in my hand, with several others, reading "Save Reggie". We had a table set up with a green tablecloth and skirt, and green balloons with literature and Reggie pins all around. We stood in the heat of the day, to save a life, the life of Reggie Clemons. All of us gathered signatures, distributed literature and spoke about this unjust, ridiculous case. Drivers stopped and pulled over on the side of the road to sign petitions and speak with us for a moment. We were getting a lot of support and love from all types of people. This is a wonderful day, but it gets better. At 5:12pm I got a phone call from a family member informing me of his stay. I cannot express the thoughts and emotions that ran through my mind and body at that very moment.

Elation, joy, relief, hope and love are what I feel. I know that this has only been possible due to the power and love of Jesus Christ!! He has made this news come about and is the reason Reginald Clemons will not be executed in Missouri on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009.

Relief is what I feel the most, although I know this is not the time to relax completely or be satisfied. Our fight must continue, we must continue to fight on Reggie's behalf. The ensuing fight would be for Reggie to receive justice, a new and fair trial, and ultimately be freed from prison.

This is an innocent man who has been wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years-18 years- a life from birth until legal age; now that is a long time. Last night my family and I went to the prayer vigil for Reggie Clemons and a guest speaker was Darryl Burton, an innocent man from Missouri who was wrongfully convicted of a murder and put on Death Row; he was in prison for 24 years before he was released!!!

This is a travesty, tragedy; it is sad that situations and stories exist such as this in the United States of America. Justice is not served in so many cases; there are many people who are wrongfully convicted, imprisoned, and even executed. I pray that Reggie receives justice and that the truth is revealed, for the whole world to see and take notice of.

As the most powerful nation in the world, we need to look at ourselves and realize that we are a nation that functions in a way which is far from perfect, fair or completely just, and this must be changed. After all, this is the land of the free, equal and just, right!? Well, we need to do all that we can to live up to this creed, beginning with the criminal justice system; which is disappointing on so many levels.

Let's keep our heads up and fight for what is right, what is true and we will prevail as a nation of the free and just!!!